Vietnam sets new record of 3.66 billion USD in rice trade in 9 months

Vietnam has set a new record for rice export earnings in the first nine months of 2023 due to rising international rice prices. This is according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The country reported $ 3.66 billion in rice exports in the first nine months of this year, up 40.4 percent from the same period last year, the ministry reported.

This result is attributed to the increase in the price of Vietnamese rice exports and the decline in the supply of rice in the international market.

The average price of Vietnamese rice in the first quarter reached $ 553 per ton, up 14% from the same period last year.

The Philippines was the largest buyer of Vietnamese rice in the first eight months, accounting for 40.3% of total rice exports. China and Indonesia ranked second and third with 13.5% and 12.4%, respectively.

According to Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director General of the Export-Import Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, export rice prices are expected to remain high until the end of the year due to demand for rice imports to major markets such as Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Africa. While supply of rice is limited from leading rice exporters such as India and Pakistan.

President of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) Nguyen Ngoc Nam noted that there is enough market for rice exports to continue to grow, especially as the Philippines needs to import an additional 1.1 million tonnes, while Indonesia plans to buy 2.3 million tons at the end of the year.

China's rice import demand is also projected to increase in the remaining months of the year, Nam said.

Its rice production is expected to increase 1.8% from last year to 24 million tonnes this year, according to the ministry. Rice exports in the first eight months rose 20 percent to 6 million tons from the same period last year.